Peter Hoss, Scam of the Month: Book details convincing scams

Scammers are flourishing in a weak economy — perhaps, in part, because of it. Scammers continue to be creative.

Leslie Kim has written a book titled "123 Main Street: The Scamming of America." She is founder and director of the nonprofit Fight Fraud America (www.fightfraudamerica.com). In the book she details one fraud for each of the 50 states. Many of the stories describe scams against insurance companies, businesses and Medicare (false claims). Others involve grossly overpriced or worthless products and services.

Several involve scams on seniors. They include scams that have wiped out life savings and destroyed families, and some that have even led to murders.

A wealthy, lonely widow from Florida established a relationship over the Internet with a man claiming to be from India named Raj. He wrote her upbeat and humorous emails every day, which she eagerly awaited. The writings became more personal and intimate, and she shared personal information that disclosed she was wealthy. He called her his special angel.

Suddenly the emails stopped. Five days later, a "sister" of Raj notified his special angel that he had contracted a rare form of cancer and needed to be flown to the United States for treatment. A phony doctor called and verified the treatment. Of course, the family could not afford it, so the lonely widow sent the money and received information that the treatment was progressing well, but Raj could not see visitors.

Finally Raj announced he was in remission and could see his special angel. He actually visited her for three days, the only time she met him, but he had to go back for more treatments. This was not enough for Raj, who actually was from the Bronx, not India, and healthy. Raj told his angel that his partners had stolen his business assets while he was sick and he had no money to start over, so of course the lonely widow supplied the funds.

The widow's daughters were suspicious but could not convince her that Raj might not be genuine. After all, he was giving her lonely life meaning.

It turned out that Raj had more than one angel. The story, like most similar ones, ended in financial loss and heartbreak.

A senior lady from Mississippi was working in her garden when a young mother and a 5-year-old boy came by. The mother said the child needed to go to the bathroom badly and might wet his pants. The senior lady generously invited them in and conversed with the mother while the child did his business.

Later, the helpful homeowner discovered jewelry missing, including a diamond wedding ring that she had taken off and placed on a dresser while gardening.

Another senior lady, from Wisconsin, was working in her garden when a man dressed in the uniform of the local power company came by and told her he was checking on rodent damage to wiring boxes, which created a safety hazard. He asked if he could make a free check.

He brought back frayed wire and told her there was imminent danger of serious damage unless something was done immediately. He gave her the name of three electrical contractors (all of whom turned out to be the same). One came out immediately in an official-looking truck and carried a toolbox into the house, where he spent about an hour. He announced that he fixed the problem.

She gratefully paid him $685 for nonexistent work, and slept soundly knowing her house was safe.

These stories have a common thread. In each case the relationship was initiated by a stranger — over the telephone, over the Internet or by personal contact. The stranger was trusted.

As parents, we used to tell our children not to accept rides from strangers. This advice needs to be extended to seniors in the modern world.

Peter T. Hoss is a retired lawyer and an adviser to Legal Services for Seniors.